Aljezur has temporarily closed its municipal pools due to detection of legionella
The municipal pools of Aljezur have closed temporarily following routine water quality tests that detected the presence of Legionella non pneumophila in the showers of the women’s and accessible changing rooms on January 28.
Though the contamination was confined to specific changing rooms, the decision was made to close the entire facility as a precautionary measure and notify public health authorities.
While Legionella non pneumophila is a type of legionella bacteria that does not cause Legionnaire’s disease, it has been linked to milder respiratory infections, such as Pontiac fever, a flu-like illness with symptoms like fever, chills, headache, and muscle aches.
To address the issue, corrective procedures, including thermal and chemical disinfection treatments, were carried out on January 29 and 30, the municipal council says in a statement.
The pools will remain closed until at least February 17, when the results from new water samples – collected on February 3 – are expected. While the local council says it hopes that it can reopen the pools soon, although this decision will always be based on feedback from public health authorities.
